Evaluation of the Quality of Clinical Education and the Clinical Self-efficacy of Nursing Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Clinical education is the most important part of the education of nursing, operating room, and anesthesia students. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of clinical training, these students became very concerned. Nursing schools also limit clinical education to create a balance between students' educational needs and safety. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of changing clinical education conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of clinical education and the clinical self-efficacy of nursing, operating room, and anesthesia students in Tehran, Iran.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on 277 seventh and eighth-semester nursing, operating room, and anesthesia students in Tehran, Iran. Students were selected by simple random sampling using a random number table. The study tools included the demographic questionnaire, the clinical education quality questionnaire, and the clinical self-efficacy questionnaire, which were sent to the participants via WhatsApp and Telegram after confirming their validity and reliability.

64.30% of students were female, and the mean age was 23.59±3.49. The mean of total scores for the quality of clinical education and clinical self-efficacy was equal to 57.38±12.43 and 104.88±23.01, respectively. 57% of students considered moderate the level of the quality of clinical education and 51.60% of them moderate the level of clinical self-efficacy. The total score for clinical self-efficacy significantly correlated with the quality of clinical education (r=0.12, P-value=0.04).

The use of new educational methods, planning the course based on the needs of learners and in accordance with the conditions, and increasing the capability and the clinical self-efficacy of nursing students should be considered by nursing professors.